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2020 Spark Initiative - Change One Thing and Do it Well

The Spark Initiative was part of the 2020 Teaching Innovation Fund, and was funded by the Strategic Alignment of Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund in Higher Education 2019.

The aim of the SPARK initiative was to support teaching staff engaged in any aspect of teaching across the University in implementing small-scale teaching and learning projects from between €250 and €1,000. Recipients of funding responded to an application process that encouraged the participation of students in both the project design and implementation and this is evident in many of the projects outlined in the SPARK report.

The theme for the Spark Initiative was ‘Change one thing and do it well’ and the idea was that projects would aim to make a small change to a teaching, learning or assessment approach that would be informed by literature or recognised good practice and would demonstrate how the initiative would impact teaching and learning practice.

Project participants showcased their findings and impact of projects in an online event in May 2021.

The SPARK report below presents detailed outcomes and impact of each initiative and offers innovative approaches to teaching and learning that could be applied across other disciplines or teaching and learning contexts.

SPARK Initiative Report - Change One Thing and Do It Well: SPARK Initiative Report

2020 Spark Projects

Improving Spatial abilities with VR: Using Virtual Reality technologies as a tool for prototyping in Interactive Media modules to help students with low spatial abilities and to increase students motivation
Dr Mohammad Javad Khajavi, Media Studies

Virtual Exchanges with Native Speakers
Dr Ana de Prada Perez, Spanish & Latin American Studies

Blending Spaces - developing a blended learning module to broaden access for institution wide beginner learners of German as a foreign language.
Dr Clive Earls, Department of German

Pandemic Conversations: A series of podcasts
Dr David Lederer, Department of History

Hands on with High Crosses
Dr Mary Leenane and Dr Eoin Grogan, Department of Celtic Studies

Using pre-recorded first-person view material for facilitations of learning in the chemistry laboratory.
Dr Eithne Dempsey, Department of Chemistry

Teaching Statistics through Music
Dr Rafael de Andrade Moral, Department of Mathematics and Statistics

Chem VR - The use of virtual reality for interactive teaching in chemistry lectures.
Dr Robert Elmes, Department of Chemistry

Introducing Feedforward to Student Evaluations of Teaching & Learning
Dr John Cullen, School of Business

Using Padlet to develop an open dialogue space in online Ecology teaching.
Dr Conor Meade, Department of Biology

Enhancing student engagement by extending PBL assignments using the student requested Python language.
Dr Thomas Dowling, Department of Computer Science

Fake News and disinformation: tools for engaged research and citizenship (3-part podcast)
Dr Aneta Stepien, Critical Skills, Office of Dean of Teaching and Learning

Playing and learning: involving haptic, visual, and auditory learning among Ph.D. students for entrepreneurial topics.
Aldo Valencia Hernandez, Department of Design & Innovation

Spark Initiative Report: Change One Thing and Do It Well

SPARK Initiative Report